About Deforestation
Forests act as carbon sinks, absorbing and locking away greenhouse gases like CO2 during photosynthesis. When forests are cleared, or burned, that stored carbon is released into the atmosphere. This increase in atmospheric CO2 exacerbates global warming and is a major contributor to climate change. Deforestation also disrupts local and regional climate patterns by affecting cloud formation, rainfall, and evapotranspiration.
Indirect impacts of deforestation include loss of soil fertility, interruptions of wildlife migration routes and food sources, pollution, and loss of biodiversity. Often, the most important impact is on local communities that depend on forests to provide food and income.
The biggest direct cause of deforestation is clearing land for agriculture, primarily cattle ranching and large-scale soy or palm oil cultivation. This is happening at an unsustainable rate to meet growing demand for these products. Other causes of deforestation include timber logging and the clearing of land for infrastructure. Roads, canals, and dams all require clearing to build. And once a road is built, it opens up previously inaccessible areas for further deforestation as loggers and farmers move into those new opportunities.
Natural disasters are another major contributor to deforestation, including landslides and forest fires. These events can occur even in protected conservation areas, though more frequently in tropical and temperate forests where the topography is steep. Climate change is also contributing to forest fires through feedback loops. For example, a warmer Earth causes trees to release more carbon dioxide into the air, which leads to more wildfires.